


you're all i need

by towokuwusatsuwu



Category: Tiger & Bunny
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Canon Character of Color, Canon Queer Character of Color, Eventual Romance, M/M, POV Character of Color
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-15
Updated: 2016-11-17
Packaged: 2018-08-31 05:22:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8565637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/towokuwusatsuwu/pseuds/towokuwusatsuwu
Summary: In a world where you only see in shades of gray until you meet your soulmate, Barnaby has his literally fall into his arms.





	1. Chapter 1

With a life of misfortune and a cloud of sadness hovering over his head waiting to rain down upon him wherever he goes, Barnaby Brooks Jr. has given up on many of the desires other people have had in the past. One of those desires is finding his soulmate.

 

Not that he doesn’t want to, of course, but he knows better than to hold out hope for it.

 

Most people never find the one for them. Most people spend their time with their lives awash in shades of gray. He’s spent his entire life like this. He can’t imagine that ever changing for him.

 

And if he had to extend hope? He wants to catch the man who killed his parents the most.

 

He wants to finally put an end to that mystery so their spirits can rest in peace and so the heavy burden he’s been carrying around on his shoulders since that night can finally be set aside.

 

But he isn’t able to predict Kotetsu T. Kaburagi. He’s heard about him but he doesn’t  _ care _ , not when it isn’t important, not before they’ve even officially met. He just sees him fall and flies up to catch him, because that is what heroes do. And first and foremost, Barnaby is a hero.

 

He doesn’t even really know his  _ name, _ not then. All he knows is that Wild Tiger is an older hero, falling apart at the seams and more likely to fumble a mission than complete it successfully. He just sees the blue spandex-clad form  _ fall _ , the glow of his 100 Power disappearing as the five-minute time limit finally wears off, and he reacts. It’s something he’s done before and he doesn’t even break a sweat rising through the air, catching the other man’s body in his arms.

 

At first, he assumes his visor is malfunctioning. He has no idea why it would have to do that, except everything before him  _ explodes. _ It takes him a minute to process the change, the shift from the drab shades of gray to the plethora of color and light in front of him. His breath catches in his throat. Has the world  _ always _ been this beautiful and he was just missing out on it?

 

It takes yet another sixteen seconds for his brain to process  _ why _ the change occurs in the first place, and yet another seven seconds to make the connection that sends his world upside down. He would only gain the ability to see color for the first time if he met his soulmate, and the only person even  _ close _ enough to touch him right now would be Wild Tiger.

 

For what it’s worth, he brushes off the man’s attempts to engage him in any meaningful conversation because he has a  _ job _ to do. How they manage to succeed at all is beyond him; his senses are so thrown off balance by the change in the world around him that putting one foot in front of the other is difficult. He almost wants to linger, to watch the lights of the city reflect off of the expanse of ice that Blue Rose has created. It’s  _ breathtaking. _

 

But he makes the arrest. He makes the arrest without giving too much of himself away and he feels lighter,  _ better _ being away to walk away. Blue Rose sings over the audience watching her and Barnaby thinks she might be able to see color, too, because her outfit is well-coordinated.

 

_ You found him, _ he thinks, surveying the icy landscape around him.  _ You somehow found him. _

 

He never even  _ looked. _ Some people spend their entire lives searching for that one person who will complete their world, bring this beauty into it, and he never looked. Not once. Told himself it was a waste of time and that focusing on finding the man who killed his parents was important.

 

What are the odds? What are the odds that not only is his soulmate a hero, but the very man who fell into his arms tonight? What are the odds of meeting each other in such a way?

 

_ What do I do? _ he wonders.  _ How do you talk to someone after finding this out? _

 

He doesn’t have time to think it over before a familiar voice calls out to him. “Hey! Hey, wait!”

 

Barnaby tenses all over but stops in place. Or something  _ stops _ him. He isn’t certain.

 

Wild Tiger comes to stand in front of him and Barnaby studies him, the bright blue of his suit, the warm brown of his eyes, registers the deep timbre of his voice and shakes his head. His skin is darker than Barnaby’s, a shade or two off from chestnut; it’s startling nice against the blue of his suit. And he hasn’t been able to see color before now? How did he pull this off, then?

 

They stare at each other for a few minutes, Barnaby absorbing everything he can, when Wild Tiger speaks. “You… I’m not crazy, am I? You can see the same thing I can, right?”

 

It would be easy to lie, to walk out of it by claiming he doesn’t, but… “Yeah. I can.”

 

“But this is  _ crazy, _ ” Wild Tiger says, and Barnaby hums softly in agreement because it  _ is. _ “I wasn’t… I didn’t think…  _ How? _ We don’t even know each other. I don’t even know who you are. I don’t even  _ recognize _ you. You exposed your face and everything, why would you—”

 

Barnaby raises his hand, shakes his head. “Times change. What’s your name?”

 

Wild Tiger stops, then stares at him, and Barnaby wonders if he’s more concerned with keeping his identity a secret than sharing his name with his soulmate. “I… It’s Kotetsu.”

 

“Kotetsu.” Barnaby lets the word roll around on his tongue. “That’s Japanese, isn’t it?”

 

He doesn’t want to assume wrong and risk offending, but Wild Tiger— Kotetsu— just kind of nods at him and keeps going, as if the gravity of the situation hasn’t quite sunk in yet. “You showed your face, you shouldn’t do that! You can’t have a secret identity if everyone knows who you are. Do you even have any sponsors? I don’t see any names on your suit.”

 

“I don’t have any right now.” Barnaby takes a step closer to him, not knowing how to process, not knowing how to  _ deal. _ Instead, he extends a hand. “I’m… Barnaby.”

 

Kotetsu hesitates before taking his hand and Barnaby  _ swears _ the world sparkles that much brighter even if there is no scientific evidence to prove it. All he knows is that he can  _ see _ Kotetsu in brilliant color and that he doesn’t know where to go from here. Everything before now was carefully mapped out from the start, but this? This is an outlier he could never have planned for.

 

There are a thousand and one questions he wants to ask, and untold answers he doesn’t know if he’s even privy to yet, and yet not a sound leaves his mouth. Their hands remain linked and time seems to stand still, and Barnaby knows he has to leave soon because he made his little sneaky debut just like he wanted to, and he succeeded, and now it’s time to wait for the next season of  _ Hero TV _ so he can properly show Sternbild just what he’s capable of. And yet, he can’t move. He can’t  _ make _ himself move, can’t make himself drop Kotetsu’s hand or take a single step in the correct direction to move himself away from this. He doesn’t even  _ want _ to because that would mean leaving his soulmate here and he doesn’t know when they would see each other again.

 

Eventually, he finds the strength to drop Kotetsu’s hand and clears his throat, trying to sound as detached as he tries to be from most situations. Personal investment can cause far too many issues. “Not that I’m trying to run,” he says, gesturing to the city beyond, “but I have to go.”

 

Kotetsu frowns at him. “Are we… Not acknowledging what’s happened, then?”

 

“No, no, I…” Barnaby has to stop himself because Kotetsu sounds so  _ accepting _ and there is something both troubling and upsetting about that. “We are. If you want to.”

  
The scene of a crime is a strange place to exchange phone numbers and email addresses, but Barnaby is under the impression there is nothing normal about them, anyway.


	2. Chapter 2

“You have a daughter?” Barnaby cocks his head at him from across the coffee table and Kotetsu nods. He’d wanted to make sure Barnaby knew the score as soon as possible.

 

“I do. Her name is Kaede.” Kotetsu fumbles with his cell phone until he can pull up a picture of her to show to Barnaby. “I don’t get to see her very much because of the job.”

 

Barnaby had been the one to suggest that Kotetsu come to his apartment, something that Kotetsu was both extremely relieved and incredibly nervous about. After all, an apartment is hardly a neutral place, but he doesn’t want to fumble his way through conversations with the man he was meant to be with in front of any onlookers. It doesn’t help that people know Barnaby’s name, that he wants to keep the name of his soulmate under lock and key until they’ve sorted things out.

 

Kotetsu tells himself that is perfectly reasonable, because if things don’t work out for whatever reason (even though they  _ always _ do), they don’t have to have a publicized break-up. They can quietly go their separate ways. But the sting is still there, the thought that Barnaby might want to keep him a secret because of  _ who _ he is, and even then, he doesn’t think he could go about blaming him for it in any way. Barnaby is a young, popular, up-and-comer and Kotetsu wants him to succeed. He wants that fiercely, without knowing why. Maybe it’s the natural bond between them.

 

“She’s beautiful.” Barnaby smiles down at the screen and Kotetsu relaxes. It wasn’t the negative reaction he had been so worried about. “I’ll get to meet her eventually, right?”

 

“Of course.” That isn’t even a  _ question. _ Kotetsu wants Kaede to meet Barnaby.

 

He’s… magnetic. Kotetsu has no black and white images of him to compare to the fully in-color version in front of him but even without them, he knows gray would never have done Barnaby justice, not the deep emerald shade of his eyes or the sunshine gold of his hair.

 

_ Way too good for me, _ is the thought that pings around in his mind the most. Even if the way Barnaby does things is  _ unconventional, _ he’s too good for whatever Kotetsu has become.

 

“Good.” Barnaby hands him his phone back. “Have you told her about me yet?”

 

“I did, yeah. Like, not that long after. Once I had time to process it.” And she’d been  _ thrilled _ .

 

He’d worried, probably over worried, that she would react badly. Tomoe’s passing had affected both of them differently, and the idea of ever meeting his soulmate seemed  _ impossible. _

 

Barnaby nods slowly at the words. “If I had someone to tell, I would have told them.”

 

That is an interesting sentiment and Kotetsu wants to chase it down to its origin, but Barnaby cuts himself off with a sip of wine. It’s almost ludicrous they’re sitting on the floor eating dinner instead of anywhere else, but at the same time, it’s homey. It’s relaxing. Kotetsu  _ likes _ it.

 

He tries not to drink too much, because it’s a bad habit of his and he wants to kick it before it eats up any more of his life than it already has. It wouldn’t hurt if Barnaby never found out about it.

 

“I… I think I’ve expressed it enough since then but I was really surprised,” Barnaby says, and Kotetsu looks up from the contents of his glass to study the younger man’s face. He looks confused, but there’s a smile on his lips just the same. “I thought my visor malfunctioned.”

 

Kotetsu chuckles at the thought and runs a hand through his hair. “Would serve you right, using random technology like that,” he says, and Barnaby huffs at him, rolling his eyes. “I knew what happened. I just couldn’t believe it. I didn’t think I had anyone out there.”

 

He’s been told his entire life that everyone has a soulmate out there, just for them, the other half to make them whole. Tomoe hadn’t been that person for him, and while his world had never bled into color when he was with her, he was happy with her. Happier than he had ever been in his life. With her, he found meaning. He would have been fine with remaining alone because he’d had her.

 

“Am I a surprise to you, then?” Barnaby asks, tilting his head, studying Kotetsu quietly.

 

“Yeah. A welcome one.” At least he can admit that. Knowing he was never meant to be alone is a relief in more ways than one. “What about me? Did I surprise you, too?”

 

Barnaby hums softly. “You fell out of the sky and into my arms. It was surprising as hell.”

 

“Well, that’s one way to look at it.” Kotetsu chuckles. “Kind of romantic, if you think about it.”

 

“You could have gotten yourself killed if you weren’t more careful,” Barnaby says.

 

Kotetsu huffs at him. Even if he is right, he doesn’t have to  _ say _ it. “Anyway. Thank you.”

 

“You don’t have to thank me. I was just doing my duty as a hero.” Barnaby stops, then stretches out a hand, the very tips of his fingers brushing the back of Kotetsu’s hand. “I was happy to.”

 

Judging by the way Barnaby immediately pulls his hand back, the gesture had been a bit much for him. Kotetsu files that away for later and chooses not to bring it up now, finishing off his glass of wine and reaching for his fork. For what it’s worth, Barnaby isn’t exactly bad at cooking.

 

“So, what inspired you to be a hero?” he asks. “Kind of a big choice to just walk into.”

 

Barnaby pauses. “Yeah, I know it seems that way. Just… I thought it suited me.”

 

That doesn’t seem quite right but Kotetsu, as before, chooses not to chase after it because the two of them are just now getting to know each other. Instead, he takes a thoughtful bite of fish and watches Barnaby adjust his glasses, nudging them up his nose just a bit.

 

“It’s getting late,” Barnaby notes, and Kotetsu checks his phone to make sure. “I don’t want to keep you out too late on our first dinner. Not when we both have work in the morning.”

 

Kotetsu chuckles at him and shakes his head. “A real romantic, aren’t you?”

 

But Barnaby is correct about work, so they finish their dinner with much lighter conversation than they began with, and Kotetsu does his best not to poke and prod too much. He helps Barnaby take the plates to the sink and lingers in the kitchen for a moment, watching the younger man scrape the dishes clean of excess food before setting them in the water to soak.

 

“I should be going,” he says eventually, rubbing the back of his neck, feeling suddenly a little too warm. He was able to get through dinner just fine but saying  _ goodbye _ is what’s going to make him feel uncomfortable? “We’ll have to do this again, just this time at my place.”

 

Barnaby half-smiles at him and nods, drying his hands on a dish towel before stepping close. Closer than Kotetsu has let people step in recent memory. He reaches out, takes Kotetsu’s hand in his. “Thanks for coming over. It really was nice. I’m looking forward to working with you.”

 

“Again with the romance.” Kotetsu huffs at him and tries not to think too much about the fact Barnaby is holding his hand, not tugging it free, letting Barnaby let go of it on his own. “Hopefully it’s not too bad tomorrow. But if it is, we’ll do our best to take care of it.”

 

Barnaby walks him to the door and they give each other a little wave goodbye, because anything else would feel strangely intimate right now. Kotetsu shoves his hands into the pockets of his vest and rolls his shoulders, head tipping back a bit as he steps outside and inhales fresh air. He hadn’t entirely expected things to go well with Barnaby and he’s glad they did. He’s also still thrown off at how  _ colorful _ the city is now that he can see every hue and shade of it.

 

He has questions, walked out the door with more questions than he had answered, but that will come with time assuming Barnaby wants to use that time to further whatever this is between them. Kotetsu hums thoughtfully, then heads for where he parked his car.

  
Maybe the two of them can find a way to make this work. He’d enjoyed spending time with Barnaby tonight and as far as he can tell, the younger man enjoyed talking to him, too. If that continues on with their work, everything should be just fine. Kotetsu prides himself on being a father first and a hero second, and he silently prays that Barnaby and Kaede’s first meeting goes over smoothly, as does their chance to work together.


End file.
